Requiem of the Dark Realm
by Eduardo Amador Amazonas
Summary: Yoshi returns from his home in Yoshi's Island to find the Mushroom Kingdom in chaos. The Mario Bros. and Peach... missing. The Koopa Troop... annihilated? Other famous personalities have vanished as well. He goes on a quest around the entire Mushroom World, recruiting friends and acquaintances, to find the truth behind all this...
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

"King Bowser!" yelled Wendy as Bowser was chucked with great might at the wall in the end of the throne room. The force also sent Lemmy flying at a nearby pillar; he fell unconscious in some debris. Roy lay defeated near the entrance and Iggy hung over his destroyed contraption. Ludwig held on his injured left shoulder, while a rumbling voice declared, "Your weak leader was no match for me and is out cold, and all of your armies are like nothing. You should stop resisting, young Koopa, and join me. Your talents will be better used to the maximum under my leadership."

Just as he finished, Bowser Jr. came in with a giant Bowser cannon, and lit up a match. A green beam of energy shot at Bowser Jr. before he could ignite the weapon, injuring him and rendered the weapon useless.

The unknown being in a mantle walked over to Bowser while saying, "I made you an offer I was sure you wouldn't refuse. And it was a good, shall we say, ransom, too. So that wasn't enough, huh? [to everyone else] Listen, all of you, youthful Koopas! I need all of your strength, and I kindly request to not refuse my offer. Sadly, one of you is missing, but we'll manage without him. Here are my terms..."

Larry charged at him and jumped, ready to strike him with one of Bowser's baseball bats. The being only poked Larry's forehead and made him unconscious. The being reached where Bowser's unconscious body lay and held out an arm, still draped in the cloak. A violet ray emanated, and started transforming Bowser. Wendy shrieked and passed out. Ludwig watched in horror as Bowser slowly turned into a marionette, and two large puppet crosses formed beside his wooden and mute body.

Lemmy was slowly getting up, as the caped being said, "If you want this Koopa back, the same who disowned you as family, join me and my generals, and we will conquer the entire Mushroom World."

Ludwig had a lost look. He stammered, "I… I… can't… I…"

"We will join you, your majesty," replied Lemmy, whose voice became unrecognizably deep. His eyes no longer revealed a crossed-eyed gaze of a clown, but a sinister, blue hue covered the entire eye.

Ludwig gave his brother a concerned look as he thought to himself, 'Why now? Out of any possible time, why has this side of Lemmy emerged, like it did many years ago? This guy… it must have been! He did it. But I can't take them both on in this weakened state. [He closes his eyes and grins smugly.] I have no choice then, do I?'

Ludwig, having now opened his eyes at the being, replies calmly, "What shall we do now, sir?"


	2. The Ball

**The Ball**

_One week before the defeat of the Koopa Troop, Princess Peach invited all the monarchs from the Mushroom world to attend the Mushroom Kingdom's Ball, the Star Gala, making some sort of truce. Bowser, of course was invited as well. He wore his iconic white tux from a previous ceremony. Bowser Jr. wore a similar outfit. Wendy wore a red furisode with golden designs, Lemmy and Larry wore formal vests, Roy wore a khaki suit and black turtleneck, and Iggy wore a plaid suit and an unbuttoned white shirt. Ludwig was clad in a concert tux, but he sat on a sofa, seemingly upset. Bowser and Bowser Jr. are a bit far off, putting the final touches to their apparel._

"Looking sharp like your dad!" said Bowser as he complimented Bowser Jr.

Ludwig lets out a disillusioned sigh. He cannot hide the deep resentment he had recently acquired. Iggy goes toward his older brother and leans on Ludwig's right shoulder.

"Color me nosey, but aren't we going to a ball? You're playing with the orchestra. Why the [snorts] long face?"

"Not now, Iggy. Your mad genius cannot comprehend the peril of this predicament."

"Big deal, Luddy. So, dad has a favorite. And, Morty got banished. We finally get to go with dad to an important event…"

Ludwig tries to remain calm as he irritably replies, "So, saying we're no longer his family such a lightweight declaration? And yes, I am still angry that Morton hid his termite farm in my violin closet; those scamps ate my beloved viola. But as gawky and boisterous as he was, he is still family. Father… no, Lord Bowser, should have never divided us."

"Look. We got you another… whatever it was. I'm sure after this is all done, dad will think things and reconsider."

"Hope you're correct, Iggy."

Roy looks outside through a window of the castle. "Seems we iz hitchin' a ride on the Nimbus' Royal Bus 'stead of the Clown Car."

"I'm like soo tired of waiting," retorts Wendy.

_After the long ride to Peach's castle, they finally arrive. After landing, Ludwig had gone ahead through the servants' entrance. Toads at the palace gates greeted the Nimbus family, but coldly receive Bowser and company. Peach is seen greeting all of the guests. Nearby; Mario, Luigi, Daisy, and Toad are dressed formally and are having a friendly chat._

"I heard Peach invited a shark king named Posei, from the underwater Same-Same Kingdom," said Daisy, "I never knew such a place existed!"

"His daughter, Princess Donna, came as well," added Toad, "They are outside in the castle fountain… No, wait. Is that King Posei with the orchestra?"

_They all turn to see an upright whale shark of similar stature to the pirate Jonathan Jones, wearing a royal purple cape held by a badge with a shark insignia. He motioned Ludwig to the piano as he held an accordion._

"Here's a waltz played in my kingdom's style." He proceeds to play his accordion.

_**watch?v=HkLb6ZsUkUw**_

_All of the guests were left speechless. Bowser was standing next to Peach while the music began playing. He clears his throat and gently extends his hand at her._

"May I have the honor of this dance?"

_Peach bit her lower lips, and tries to find Toadsworth, but silently complies. She was amazed at how well he waltzed, gracefully and naturally adapting to his step. They were joined by other couples, but they seemed to be the couple that made heads turn. Mario stood on the side disappointed that he didn't have the first dance with Peach. His left hand is grabbed by someone. _

"Dance with me," said a smiling Toadette. Mario smiles back and accepts.

_Bowser and Peach wowed the entire group of guests and servants. Their elegant performance was a spectacle no one expected from the Mushroom princess and the leader of the Koopa Troop. For a rare instance, she felt comfortable near him, as one would be near friends._

"I must admit, you're not so scary when you dance," declared Peach as they waltzed, "You're actually very good. We should have balls more often."

The last statement made Bowser blush. Bowser thinks while looking at Peach in his arms, 'I could get used to this. Good thing Ludwig taught me this posh crap. Peach down; kingdom next.'

_The dance went on until the end of the piece was marked by a short and quirky rift. The crowd broke into applause. T____oadofsky, the orchestra's director, congratulated both Ludwig and King Posei. King Posei had the urge to return to the fountain, and left the orchestra to continue playing throughout the rest of the ball. The remainder of the night was filled with fireworks, dance, __Hors d'oeuvres____, and laughs. After many hours, the guests were sent their ways, and Princess Peach went to her chambers. Little did she know that someone had waited patiently and quietly in the shadows of the bedroom, ready to take her hostage._

* * *

**A/N: 'Same' [SAH-meh] is Japanese for shark. The names _Posei_ and _Donna_ come from Poseidon.**

**Music used belongs to their respective owners.**


	3. Morning Furls the Mushroom Woes

**Morning Furls the Mushroom Woes**

The next morning after the ball…

A Paratroopa with an orange shell with three diagonal blue stripes arrives at Mario's Pad and accidentally drops the Mario Bros.' delivery.

"Oh boy, not again," said the clumsy Paratroopa named Paraklutz, a newly recruited postman famed for delivering items damaged due to his clumsiness. "I hope the new Postmaster doesn't find out again. [After nervously placing his hand next to his mouth] Um, uh… Ma-ma-mail call." With that, he flies to the next house.

_This time, Mario goes out to pick up the mail, including the just-delivered package. He is flipping though the mail while walking back inside his pad. Luigi sat before their computer, immersed in a chat. Mario proceeds to sit down at the kitchen table and checks the entire delivery, while enjoying a breakfast of milk and donuts._

He thinks, 'A thank you note from the a-Princess, a postcard… no two, from a-Kooper and Goombario, letters from a-Luigi's fan girls… [After eyeing the packet for a bit] Let's a-see the packet.'

He opens the packet while he sipped some milk, but then spits it back out; he face palms. Luigi turns around with the computer swivel chair. The computer screen displays a log-in window.

"I got some 300 spam messages. Don't you hate it when you get spam in your mailbox?"

"Oh yeah," replied Mario while revealing the packet's content: six cans of Spam, "Who a-keeps sending this to us?"

Luigi shakes his head chuckles. "That's the third time this week. Anyway, just talked to Yoshi, bro. He is coming back next week after the games in Dinosaur Land are over. I wish we could have gone; Isle Delfino plays against Vanilla Dome tomorrow."

"Eh, Luigi," interrupted Mario, "Some 'Octetos' sent us an old a-book. Smells a-musty."

Luigi takes it. He stands and yawns while stretching his body. "I am still pooped from yesterday's party, so I'll just go back to the room and read this old thing."

"See ya," said Mario as Luigi left the kitchen with the relic and a couple of donuts.

Mario gets comfortable, sorting through the mail. 'News about my pirate pal Johnny; I a-wonder what's he up to… huh?' He sees another letter from Peach. However, the envelope it lacks the usual pink colored hue and gold letters. He opens it and strangely finds a normal white paper instead of the customary refined paper Peach usually used. He reads the note:

xoxoxoxox

_Hey Mario, _

_Come to the castle, by the bridge going to Shooting Star Summit. I'll be waiting. Oh, and don't tell anyone. __Bye!_

_Toadstool_

xoxoxoxox

_Mario feels confused and uneasy about the request, but shrugs off the worst. He grabs a Fire Flower and dashed out the door to the pipe connecting his pad to Toad Town. _

_Meanwhile, Luigi kicks off his boots and slumped on the lower bunk. He removes his hat and flings it over the dresser, and unbuttons his right overall buckle._

He thinks as he opens the antiquated book, 'Hopefully Mario doesn't find out that…' but he couldn't finish that thought, because a large being, seemingly released from its hardbound prison, overshadowed the green-clad plumber, rendering him frightfully mute. This creature hastily charged at Luigi and…

_Around the same time, Toad is gardening at Tayce T.'s backyard. Being helpful by nature, and interested in seeing her culinary skills on his day off from the castle, he speedily pull out carrots in hopes for enjoying a delicious and buttery carrot cake dressed with almonds bits and delicately sweet frosting. _

_She was fixing a blueberry pancake breakfast for him, and smelling the tantalizing aromas made his work enjoyable. And… was she brewing fresh syrup to compliment? He dreamily looks at the garden, and snaps out of his trance. Only two more carrots were left. _

"Yahoo! Almost done!" he cheerfully exclaims.

_He grabs the basket holding all the carrots collected so far. He plucks one out with his signature veggie picking speed and chucks it inside the basket. He goes for the other, but it seems harder to pull than the rest. He keeps yank at it until his face resembles the nearby tomatoes. As Toad nearly pulls out the entire carrot, the vegetable forcibly goes back underground and takes a confounded Toad with it. A few minutes pass, and Tayce T. walks out to her backyard._

"Toad, come inside and wash your hands. Breakfast is… Toad? Where'd he go?" She only sees an upturned basket and carrot littering the ground, but no Toad.

A few moments later, in a remote alley behind Peach's castle, Mario is leaning against the wall badly beaten and panting deeply. Two figures approached and blocked his only exit, knowing he had no chance of escaping, even by wall kicks. The sun cast its light so that Mario could only see two shadowy complexions. He tries to yell for help, but no sound came out.

"Cut the drama, dude," uttered one of the creatures, "Thanks to my newly learned _Gunk Ball_, you can't talk for a while or even use your special moves."

"Sssssso, the jumping hero of the Mushroom Kingdom isssss cornered between a wall and a hard placccce," stated the other, "We got the Princessssss lasssst night, and when we catch you, our plan to take over the Mushroom world will comencccce sssssoon."

One of them emits a hazy smokescreen, covering all three. The sound of struggling is heard for a while, but stops abruptly. Mario's gloved hand falls out of the range of the smoke, and is swiftly pulled back in.

* * *

**A/N: **_**Gunk Ball **_**is a special move from **_**Super Mario RPG**_**. Thanks for reading. Please review.**


	4. What is going on?

**What is going on?**

Its ten days after the Star Gala Ball. Yoshi is heading back from his home in Yoshi's Island to the port in Toad Town, riding on the back of a whale. The sun is shining in its full power amidst the scattered clouds, and the sea breeze whistled throughout the oceanic expansion, mixing its salty scent with that of the sweet tropical fruits Yoshi brought back with him. He is smiling while he ate a melon.

As he sees the distant port I the horizon, he thinks, 'Can't wait to see Mario and Luigi again. They'll love the coconuts I brought them. [Sighs] Luigi is going to be disappointed we lost to Isle Delfino.' He sees the silver trophy in his hands and remembers his conversation with his acquaintance Boshi.

_Two days ago…_

"_Second place isn't so bad, Boshi," said Yoshi in the Yoshi language as he lay on his hammock at his house. He was snacking on a watermelon._

"_Fo' losers, it ain't!" retorted Boshi, who was leaning on the palm holding the hammock, "Dem Isle Delfino 'Shis got lucky dis time."_

"_You mean, they got us good."_

"_Shaddup! Yous got yo' tail handed to ya skinny dipp'n…"_

"_Swimming," interrupted Yoshi as he munched another watermelon._

"_Whatever. And I… AAAARRRGG! I lost at the rock climb'n! Oh, but dey got them days counted. I challenged them pansies to sum' games in the winter."_

_Yoshi choked in the last slice of watermelon when he heard that. "N-n-next winter?" he stammered, "That's in six months! We don't have the right conditions to train. It's summer."_

_Boshi clenched his fist and hits the palm next to him, causing the hammock spin, trapping Yoshi inside it, before spinning back and tossing him on the floor. _

_Boshi exclaimed, seething in anger, "Yous ain't never understand what dis meant fo' me! Dey gots everythin'; I nevah had nothin'! It wuz a chance fo' sumthin' new." He sighs as he leaves, but then stops to say, "I iz leaving 'Shi's Islan' to train. Peace out, yo." _

_Yoshi silently meditates as Boshi leaves on a solo journey._

_Present time…_

Yoshi shakes his head. 'Boshi has always been rash. But he's right. I need some training too. And what better training than with the Mario Bros… Right after I eat some of Tayce T.'s cookies.'

The whale speeds up a bit; Toad Town Port is within grasp. As they near the port, lively music is heard, and a festival seemed to be set up.

'Strange,' thought Yoshi, 'I'm pretty sure a carnival is going to be in 2 weeks.'

He lands and thanks the whale. Then, he asks a random Toad about the commotion.

"You haven't heard, bro? The Shuguys got stonified! No more Shyguy thieving anymore! And the Snifits, Birdos, and Bob-ombs are stony too. YAAAAAAHOOOOOO!" The random Toad runs off to a group of Toads.

That left Yoshi with more questions than answers. He pressed on to Tayce T.s, pushing his way through the ecstatic crowd of Toads, doogans, and few Beanish people. He stood afar off Tayce T.'s in disappointment, since her kitchen was busier than a freeway during rush hour. With no hope of getting cookies soon, he walks toward the post office near the castle gates.

To his astonishment, some Toads were braying at the gates, but met a great resistance from the other side. They seemed to be overjoyed to the point that they need to take it to the castle courtyard. Yoshi is the surprised by a hand on his right shoulder. It was a jittery Paratroopa he'd never seen before. This orange and blue shelled Paratroopa nervously looks to both sides, and tremblingly motions Yoshi into the Post Office. Once inside, he is greeted by a confident voice of someone familiar.

"Well, if it isn't my friend's best pal, Yoshi!"

Still uneasy about what he'd just witnessed, he disconcertedly responds, "Yeah, that's me, but who are… Parakarry?"

The last times Parakarry was seen, he was a bit of a coward, disorganized, and quite clumsy. But now, he looked like a new Paratroopa: sporting shades instead of his old goggles, a more confident attitude while retaining his courteous manners, and an epaulet with the Postal Services insignia on his left arm. Ever since a couple of months ago, Parakarry succeeded the former Postmaster as the new postmaster.

"At your service! What can I do for the best friend of Mario?"

"Um, I already got my mail back home, so… who's that dude?" asked Yoshi, pointing at the other Paratroopa.

Parakarry laughs heartily, surprising Yoshi and scaring the aforementioned Paratroopa. "Him? He's Paraklutz, Koops' para-cousin. We just hired him about a month ago. Doesn't he just make you laugh?"

Yoshi sweatdrops. "So he's the famous Parakarry 2 I heard about while at the games?"

Parakarry laughs even more while face palming and grabbing his belly. "He's that famous already? He'll probably make the new Postmaster in record time!"

"Yeah, right…" Yoshi nervously replies, "So, what about the ruckus around town? What's that about?"

Parakarry lightly smiled but stopped laughing. Beneath that face, one could tell he was going to be serious. "Come," he tells Yoshi, "Let's talk in my office. Paraklutz, can you take over for me for a bit?"

"A-a-are you sure?" asked Paraklutz.

Parakarry smugly looks back at him, as if telling him to do as he was told. Paraklutz trips into place as Parakarry shows Yoshi towards his new office. Once there, Parakarry pushed his seat from its place and removed the carpet. With now a strength that matched his new persona, he lifted a lifeless thwomp, revealing a secret passage.

"Follow me this way; it'll take us to the castle's kitchen. Once we get there, we go see Toadsworth. He'll fill you in on the matters on hand. Let's make haste."

Yoshi follows Parakarry inside, both disappearing into the cavern's darkness.

* * *

**A/N: 'Shis is Boshi's way of saying Yoshis in the story, in case anyone asks.**


	5. A Dinosaur's Lone Journey

**A Dinosaur's Lone Journey**

Once Yoshi and Parakarry traversed the underground passageway, Yoshi nose whacked a vent out of its place. And just like Parakarry said, they entered the five-star kitchen of Peach's castle. Yoshi remembered about his fruit he was carrying, so he left it there and headed out to the second floor along with Parakarry. When they opened the door, an eerie stillness of the usually upbeat and live palace embraced them. A great commotion was heard coming from the castle gate's direction.

Up the stairs they went, and pushed the doors open; the formerly lavish and dazzling castle hall is now a forlorn and unlit room. Toadsworth is looking out the window, witnessing the Toad guards and two others trying to keep the gates closed. He then hangs his head and shakes it as he sighs in deep disappointment. Yoshi couldn't help but catch this gloominess himself, but musters the strength to approach the saddened Chancellor. Toadsworth turns and nearly gets teary eyed when he finds Yoshi and Parakarry there.

"Yoshi!" he said with a lightly broken voice, "Seeing the last of the kingdom's heroes here gives me a sliver of hope that everything will go back as it was."

"Mr. Toadsworth," started Yoshi, "What has happened? Did Bowser do this? Where are Mario and Luigi?"

Toadsworth shrugs and shakes his head, while letting his arms drop. "We don't know much either, and I'm sorry to say that, young one. The morning after the ball, I go to the Princess' room for her morning tea, but she didn't answer. After a couple of minutes, I barge in and…" He sheds some tears. "She was gone. All I saw was an unsigned note saying the Mushroom World was going to be conquered…" He then sobs into his arm. "We failed to protect the princess!"

Parakarry then hears some footsteps behind him and turns. A shadowy figure approaches, and once it came into sight, it is seen that it was Professor E. Gadd. He is sporting his usually goofy grin, and is carrying an assortment of objects as well.

"I'll take it from here, Chancellor." He sets everything down near the doorway and come up to the green dinosaur. "Not only has Peach been abducted, the Mario Bros. and even Toad were kidnapped! A week after the ball, the entire world was shocked to here the Koopa Troop was demolished. And the next day, my radar picked up an unusual frequency, which seems to be the cause of petrifaction in some of the world's beings."

Parakarry interjects, "We thought the commotion of the Princess being gone, along with the other news would surely bring uproar to Toad Town. And it did; the Toads now seem to be thrown into a partying frenzy, and they could care less that they are gone. I'd go and search, but I must run the Postal services."

"And I must continue to research the strange phenomenons that are occurring," responder E. Gadd, "So, I give you these." He picks up a plastic jar, a gray suitcase resembling Stuffwell, and a contraption resembling a Wii U.

"This suitcase is my latest traveling commodity: Stuffwell version 2.0. In this you can keep at least 100 things of any size inside. I'm not sure if you can put more though. This [pointing at the device in his right hand] is a Wii Me. It contains DNA samples of Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Toad. Whenever you get close to any of them, a beeper will ring, and the closer you are, the more frequently it beeps. And my latest and best scientific creation [picks up the jar]: Yoshi vitamins."

Yoshi became almost as intrigued as when he smells cookies. The Professor continues, "These Yoshi-only assorted chewables give you the fabled powers of different colored Yoshis. For example, eating the pink chewable made from Dash Pepper will transform you into a pink Yoshi. It will make you twice as fast, but diminishes your accuracy and reduces your overall power. I enclosed a manual listing the many flavors you have at your disposal, each with different strengths and weaknesses. Also, each pill lasts for about half an hour or until you eat another. Think things through before consuming, okay?"

"Thank you," said Yoshi as he reads the manual, and picks a blue vitamin out of the jar.

"Be careful, young one," said Toadsworth, "Please go to the distant Sarasaland and find Princess Daisy. She should be able to help."

Parakarry pulls out from his satchel a bag of coins and a couple of letters, and hands them to Yoshi. "I kindly ask of you to deliver these. One is for Daisy, and the other is… well, I don't know where to find the guy, but if you do, please give him the letter. Here are also some coins for your travels. Good luck and farewell."

Yoshi puts his new belongings into Stuffwell 2.0. He mumbles, "Hope this works," and eats the blue chewable. His green skin becomes dark blue and he sprouts some wings. Following his transformation, he says, "Not bad, professor."

Toadsworth sighs again. "Sorry to burden you like Mario, but please, find everyone, and beat this new menace."

Yoshi walks toward the window and opens it. He looks back and gives them thumbs up. "Don't worry, we'll find them." He leapt into the sky and flew to Sarasaland.

Deep inside, however, Yoshi felt very uneasy. _Where will he find even one of his friends? Who is responsible for this catastrophe? How can he defeat the one who defeated Bowser and his army? Should he search the entire Mushroom World? Even if he tries, will it be too late?_ Unable to appease his thoughts, he dashed in direction to Sarasaland.

* * *

**A/N: Think of the interior of the castle as it is in Paper Mario [64]. The real journey begins!**

**This story will go on 2-week hiatus. Until next time!**


	6. Destination: Chai

**Destination: Chai**

Yoshi gazed past the window of a bullet train at the scenic paradise of Easton, a kingdom of the realm of Sarasa Land, en route to the seat of the entire realm, Chai. Yoshi became overwhelmed by awe as he enjoyed the ancient Moai lining the vast Easton's plains and the Batadons flying freely in the noon skies from inside the modern transport.

Yoshi thinks, 'Princess Daisy has sure done a bit. I remember Mario's story about this place, but it has changed a lot.' He saddens a bit when he remembers Mario. He slumps into his seat. 'I must hurry to Daisy to save Mario and the others. But I need rest.' He sighs. 'The past two days were brutal…'

_A couple of days ago…_

_Yoshi, still powered by the blue vitamin, dashed across the night skies of the kingdom of Grass Land. After passing the grassy expansion, he sees a craggy, mountainous, uninhabited wasteland; he lands on the edge of a butte. The sun has finally set, and an eerie breeze whistled throughout the lonely region. _

'_Great!' Yoshi thought as tries to inspect the area, 'I'm pretty sure Sarasa Land is a couple of days north of Grass Land, but I can't see much. Let's see, what did Mario say that one time around the campfire…? He said he followed a red star until he reached a desert full of goombas things and pyramids, all past an uncharted mining town in the middle of nowhere.'_

_He surveys the skies, and spots a faint red light amongst the pitch blackness of the night. The cold wind howled once more, the chill sending shivers up Yoshi's spine. He presses forward and jumps off to the precipice. He didn't notice that the transformation wore off when he landed, so he plummeted like an anvil. _

_Confused with the turn of events and on the spur of the moment, he opens Stuffwell 2.0, and manages to take the vitamin jar out without spilling the contents. He gets a bluish chewable out and gulps it down. To his surprise, instead of sprouting wings, his entire body with the exception of his limbs inflated him triple in size. His now contoured balloon body slowly floats up from the dark abyss. _

_As he reaches a better lit area, he sees floating spore-like entities nearing him at a walking pace. After squinting at them for a better look, his eyes widen and tries flapping his now stubby arms and legs to try escape the approaching menace._

'_I thought fuzzies only live in my home island!' thought Yoshi as he struggled to escape, but to no avail._

_Another untimely breeze blew the fuzzies close in mere seconds. One of those floats to Yoshi's side._

_Yoshi tries to yell, "Go away!" A small stream of air leaves his body however, thus shrinking his body a bit. Realizing this, he covers his mouth while profusely sweating at the two fuzzies created from the one split in two by Yoshi's air. Then, both make contact._

_To Yoshi's surprise, neither pops and creates a psychedelic rainbow illusion, but bounces off his gelatinous belly. Relieved, Yoshi presses forward, constantly blown off course by the sporadic winds. Eventually, his transformation conveniently stops by an empty cave on the cliff where he spends the night._

_The next day, he reaches the mining town, but finds an abandoned slum. After finding a few useful things, he continues. Eventually, he reaches Birabuto, Sarasa Land's sandy kingdom. And from there, he transverses Muda and reached a new modern port on Easton's coast._

_Present time…_

A female voice came from the speakers. "Five minutes to the next stop at the base of Chai."

'That's my stop,' thought Yoshi as he readies Stuffwell 2.0. Before closing it, he reads the manual for the Yoshi Vitamins:

_Dark blue vitamins made from blue berries and blue Koopa shell extract._

_Sprouts wings for flight, but once in air, don't land or the transformation ends._

_Light blue vitamins, made from blimp berries. _

_Inflates body like a balloon, bouncy enough to repel any object. Don't talk or blow air!_

'Just wonderful,' he thought as he pouted and looked away, 'Well, better knowing late than never. But I'd better hurry; I need Daisy's help, and my friends can not wait.'

About the same time, Lemmy, Ludwig, and three other unknown entities walk out of Merlon's house in Toad Town and greet Iggy, Wendy, Roy, Larry, and Bowser Jr., who are waiting by the town's news board. All 10 are wearing blue robes with a Toad cap design to blend in the absentminded crowd.

"With Merlon done with," stated Lemmy in his sinister voice, "All we need to do is attack Shooting Star Summit."

"His Majesty also marked 8 for abduction," said one of the three unknown guys. He sounds like a stereotypical Italian mobster. "Ludwig, you got this, Wiseguy?"

"Naturally," Ludwig replies, "Larry, depart to Goomba Village at the occident. Roy, to Koopa Village in the orient. Iggy, give the Postmaster our candid salutations, if you will. The rest of us march to Shooting Star Summit" He turns away and chuckles. "I wish to no longer delay my latest modus operandi."

"Yesssss, let'ssss go," another mystery guy said. With this, they all depart to their respective assignment, blending into the party crazed crowd.

* * *

**A/N: Read the first chapter to understand Lemmy's character change.**

**As Yoshi learns more about Prof. E. Gadd's newest concoction and travels the world, the Koopalings and their allies have made their moves. Who's their leader, and what are they up to? Next chapter: Iggy versus the new Postmaster, Parakarry! **


	7. The Final Flight of the Parakoopa

**The Final Flight of the Parakoopa**

Iggy lingered by the toppled castle gate, as everyone else went their ways. He sat next to the wall of Merlon's house while he indifferently watched the Toads and doogans have a dance off. Suddenly, his ADHD meds wore off, slowly regaining his maniacal persona. First his claws, then a tapping foot, and then he found himself yelling crazily and cackling loudly at the Post Office's door.

Parakarry was finishing the day's paperwork at his desk, a dim lamp lighting the room. He waited for Paraklutz to return from a delivery at Shiver City. He starts to hear the commotion of a madman outside, but ignores it. After a while, he has had enough, so he leaves his shades on his desk and goes outside to deal with the noisy fellow.

Once out, he sees Iggy break dancing in the middle of a crowd of cheering Toads. He pushed his way in; Iggy sees him and stops dancing, laughing loudly as a maniac.

"HA, HA, HA, HA, HA! So you've come! Luddy and the others say hiiii!"

Parakarry, although confused, confronts him. "A postman's job is never done, even this late in the afternoon. What is it that you need so badly?"

Iggy pulls out his scepter and swings it around while skipping in place. "Luddy needs a guinea pig, and he chose YOU! OOOOH, LIKE A POKÉMON!"

Parakarry was even more confused. 'I don't know what's more disturbing: what these guys will do with me, or this guy off his meds,' he thought.

He pulls out his goggles he used to wear from the satchel he always carried. He puts them on, but is shocked to see a trawl net heading for him. He narrowly dodges by flying, causing the net to catch a random onlooker. Parakarry looks back at Iggy, who mockingly smacks his own butt. Seeing that Iggy had no intention of letting him go, he silently flies up to the clouds above Toad Town.

As he speeds to a safer area, he spots Iggy trailing him on a jetpack. Iggy flails his wand, and shoots his signature lime green fireball. Parakarry expertly dodges, and continues to dodge the rain of fireballs Iggy unleashes.

Once at a certain distance, Parakarry stops and faces his rival. Iggy raises his wand while making a demented face; a red fireball with two smaller lime green ones encircling it slowly grew at the scepter's gem. Parakarry rushes at Iggy's head and does multiple Sky Dive kicks on it. The kicks made Iggy retreat into his shell, and the fire attack was flung at the distance, exploding like a firework. Iggy, however, pops out unscathed.

"You think jumping on my head'll work again? HA! HA! HA!"

Parakarry thinks as he retracts into his shell, 'True, you were already a nutcase before I kicked you.' He attempts his Shell Shot, but Iggy countered with well placed green fireball, causing Parakarry to spin out of his technique. Iggy flails the wand once more, this time being more fidgety than before.

"You want to know what I'll do, yeeees? What trick is up my sleeve, yeeees?"

Not wanting to find out, Parakarry retracts into his cyan shell again, and commences his Air Raid. Despite the speed of the attack, Iggy dodged the first couple strikes, but Parakarry didn't stop. He ricochets off a nearby cloud and narrowly misses Iggy, but steals his jetpack. A bit exhausted, he watches the demented Koopa fall to his doom beneath the clouds. A couple seconds later, a green flash shone from underneath.

Night had finally fallen, so Parakarry catches his breath and begins his descent. A bright blue flash radiates from behind him; he looks at its direction. From his place in the sky, he sees Star Haven, up in flames and tiny explosions at random places. Despite his weariness, he rushes over.

Suddenly, he is surrounded by a sandstorm and plasma bits. Illusions of his former fear of Tubba Blubba appear, and that fear slowly takes hold of his heart, almost as if reverting him to his former self. He begins to shake uncontrollably, and grabs the sides of his head. His pupils shrink into a small dot, and his ocular veins bulge almost to a rupturing point. A familiar cackle rings through his head; he looks to the sides, then down.

Iggy flew back up on the back of a Bahamutt, accompanied by the dreaded chest enemy Chester. Chester had just unleashed its Sandstorm in combination to its inner tan Ameboid's Psycho Plasm. Iggy seems to pleasure in Parakarry's frightful state.

"FEAR, I SEE! GROW MORE AFRAID! SHED SOME TEARS! LET THE WORLD SEE YOUR PATHETIC STATE OF DREAD AND PANIC! A HA! HA! HA! HA!"

Parakarry can only look back at his mocking enemy speechless. He thinks, 'What's wrong with me? The old me I discarded so long ago, why is he back? The longer I stay like this, the more terrified I become! I'll soon end up a nut job like him if I don't do something fast! Wait! I have that thing Kooper gave me on my pack!'

Trembling, he reaches for his satchel and pulls out a metallic canister. His constant shaking made opening it difficult. Once open, he chugs the greenish content, some of the liquid running down his Koopa beak onto his uniform. Little by little, the exaggerated shaking ceased, leaving only Parakarry panting deeply and drenched with sweat.

With now a clear mind, he furrowed his brows. 'I see. Iggy can now summon monstrous things on a whim, and a good choice too. He may be a psychopath, but in no doubt he is smart.'

Iggy declares in a crazed pomposity from the flying Bahamutt's back, "You want more after that show? TAKE THIS!"

He shakes the wand and pops a Thunder Bolt item from thin air, and throws it inside Chester. With all the strength he could muster, Parakarry flaps his wings vigorously enough to create a sonic boom. Almost expecting such a reaction, Iggy forms the same red fireball attack and launches it; Chester opens itself slightly and releases its Flame Wall. The attacks from both sides clash and explode with smoke, flashing, and colorful pizzazz. A cheer came from Toad Town; they though it was a fireworks' show.

Parakarry decides to flee with Iggy's jetpack still in hand. Chester had its inner Ameboid put the Bolt in its mouth beforehand, and made it spit it at Parakarry's direction. As it's about to make contact, Iggy sinisterly grins.

For Parakarry, time seemed to slow down as he desperately tries to escape the lost match. He felt he flew slower and slower as the Bolt neared closer and closer. To his surprise, it barely misses, and sighs in relief. He looks back and finds Iggy's sinister smile turn into a horrifying cackle.

He can't believe his eyes when he looks at the jetpack; two mechanical hands protrude from the sides, one with the Bolt in hand, the other holds a walkie talkie. Iggy's voice emits from the speakers.

"YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD ESCAPE AND LET ME WATCH, HUH? HERE'S MY PARTING GIFT THEN! HA, HA! LIGHTNING BOOOOLT!"

When he hollered, bolts from many nearby clouds shot at the Bolt item, hitting Parakarry in the process. Once the item ran out of juice, Parakarry floated for a bit charred, and slowly falls, feathers flying off his wings. Iggy goes in and has Bahamutt catch him in its claws, and heads toward Shooting Star Summit. As he loses consciousness, Parakarry thinks, "He, he; I left that bone head alone to tend for the Office. Paraklutz, run it… in my... place…"

* * *

**A/N: Chapter a bit longer than normal. Bahamutt, Chester, and their attack are from Super Mario RPG. Thank you for reading. Please like and review!**


	8. A Dream that will Never Be

**A Dream that will Never Be**

_Moments before Iggy's and Parakarry's scuffle, Kooper gleefully conversed with Bombette inside his house at Koopa Village. She married Bruce a while back, who sat on the hammock as he fed his two baby Bob-omb kids._

"So, rumors about a new railroad to Desert Hill was true?"

Bombette chuckled. "Oh, Kooper! That was about three months ago! We both grew tired of all the fuss, so Bruce and I decided to come back and settle down for a bit. How you've been?"

Kooper breathes deeply and closes his eyes while sighing. He couldn't contain excitement in his bowels. "I'm in!"

"Really? You got accepted into the University of Goom to study archaeology? Wow!"

"I know, right?" he replied ecstatically, "My mom left a while ago, but she was thrilled when she heard the news! I honestly thought I wasn't going to make it…"

"Not make it?!" interrupted Bombette, "Don't be modest! After traveling with Mario and Kolorado, you could bet your bottom blue coin that you were in for sure!"

Kooper looks down as he blushed. Bombette smiles as she speaks almost as if whispering, "Going out the village again, Kooper?"

"Guess so. You guys came at the right mome…" Kooper bites his lower lip, and looked away, appearing a bit sad. Bruce looks up from his present duty. "Actually, I need a favor you both, if you don't, uh, mind." Bombette silently looks back at her unpretentious friend. "Can you guys watch my house… and, uh backyard?"

Both Bob-obms appear depressed at the poignant reminder of the world's state of affairs. Bombette musters up the courage to reply, "Don't worry about a thing, Kooper. We know what happened to all the world's Bob-ombs. Probably because we got here through the warp pipe was why we didn't get turned into stone."

"I apologize for asking…"

"Kooper, it's okay. We should be thanking you for actually putting all out petrified friends in your backyard." She smiles as she tries to reassure her friend. "You go on and follow your dream. We'll wait for the day you walk with that diploma in you hand."

Bruce interjects, "And we promise your house will still be here and not a pile of ashes!"

All three shared a much needed laugh. After Kooper got his belongings, he bid his friends farewell. The rest of the village waited for him outside his house, some teary eyed, some jumping with joy. Kolorado's wife wipes some tears from her eyes as she gives a mug full of her special Koopa tea as a parting gift.

"It's a shame my husband is on his way to Subcon to research some of its ruins. I'm sure he would have been proud"

Touched, Kooper embraces her, making the entire village cheer. It was cut short, for the elder of the village, Koopa Koot, walked forward and rested the tip of his cane on Kooper's shoulder.

He said in his quivering and frail voice, "Kooper, sonny, can you do this old Koopa one favor?"

Kooper gulps as the village waits for a response. Tension rises as the awkward silence draws out.

The elderly Koopa got closer, and uttered though his senile wheezing, "Can… you make… this village proud?"

Kooper suddenly smiles and gives thumbs up. "You can count on me!"

The villagers cheer again, this time escorting him to the outskirts of the Village toward Plesant Path. Koopa Koots and Kolorado's wife stay back; for once the elder let go of his cankerous personality and bid a genuine farewell.

Kooper set forth toward Toad Town to wait for Goombario. After walking for a bit, he thinks as the sun is setting, 'I hope that ailment removing tea from Chai is helping Parakarry. I know I'll need it when I start coll… huh? What's that purple and pink lump?'

Kooper neared and recognized it as Roy's back. He lay in the middle of the road, lazily picking his teeth and nose, his cloak fluttering with the breeze on a nearby bush. He turns and sees Kooper, prompting him flick the booger on his claw elsewhere and lazily stand and face his opponent.

"Took you long enough. Saves me the trouble of findin' ya."

Kooper tries to plea with him. "Not now. I really need to go somewhere…"

"Okay, go ahead."

Kooper was shocked to find the manly pink Koopa so understanding. Kooper take a couple of steps forward, when Roy, with his muscular legs, jumps very high and ground pounds the area.

"PSYCHE!"

The tremors stopped Kooper in his tracks, and the shockwaves violently rattles every bone in his body. A nearby tree uprooted because of the quakes; Roy swings his right brawny forearm at the tree and hits it a good distance behind Kooper, destroying the bridge in the process.

Kooper falls on a knee and quivers while closing an eye. 'It feels like I've been on a jackhammer since was born. My entire body aches.'

"What's the matta, foo'? Ya ain't off the hook!"

Kooper slowly gets up, but can't stop shaking. He drops his belongings, and retracts into his deep blue shell. He does a Shell Toss in place, shooting the roads stones like bullets at Roy; his shell also went up in flames in preparation for his Fire Shell move. That counter attack was left unrealized, for Roy had summoned a Bullet Bill launcher as well as two P-Wings with his scepter. Roy aims, and with perfect shots, he counters with a few Bullet Bills. A couple blow up near Kooper, causing the fire to "cave in," severely burning him.

Kooper once more tried to stand, even in his weakened state. While he caught his breath on his hands and knees, he didn't see Roy use both P-Wings, sprouting four wings. Kooper then faced his enemy, but with blinding speed, Roy launches himself at Kooper and gives him a propelled upper cut to his abdomen, while he yells, "BOO YA!"

Some blood trickles from Kooper's mouth as he falls on his back. The last thing he sees is Roy walking over to him, and… he blacks out.

The moon shines upon Roy as he throws Kooper over his shoulder. A mob is rushing from Koopa Village to see what had happened at Pleasant Path.

Roy smirks. "That's whack! The po-po iz comin'. Time to dip." He jumps once more and dashes toward Shooting Star Summit.

* * *

**A/N: Hope you all liked it so far. Please like and review.**


	9. Birdies are da Bomb!

**Birdies are da Bomb!**

Goombario is rushing down the path toward Toad Town while munching on a slice of Nutty Cake. His family, along with the Dojo Master of Toad Town and his acolytes, gave Goombario a farewell party; he had been accepted into the Olympic Division of the University of Goom. He lost track of time, and dashed out the door after face faulting upon seeing the actual time. The sun is going to set in a few minutes, making Goombario break out in sweat.

'Kooper's gonna get mad at me! I don't wanna get him kicked outta archaeology department because of me. And we can't keep Parakarry waiting either; he was gonna fly us there with help of his stupid mailman Paraklutz. Ugh! He broke my special Mario action figure my dad bought me from the internet.'

He ponders on this as he (somehow) carries his belongings, and arrives at the ruins of King Goomba's fort. He looks ahead and shudders.

'I hate that bridge! It's so high up and walking on it makes my stomach turn.' He sighs. 'Oh, well. I have to cross it someday. Here go… huh? What's going on here?'

He sees Larry throwing a temper tantrum, and yelling at an evil Goomba pair. He is angrily waving a badminton racket, and the Goombas seem frustrated. The sun has already set.

"Stupid walking turds! I said don't swing hard. I only got two birdies left!"

One exasperatedly replies, "What do you expect? We don't have arms, and our jaws can't hold it!"

"I want my birdies back NOW!"

"Calm down, boy. We'll go." One said as they left, "Who spit in his Koopa flakes?"

Larry crossed his arms and drops onto the grass. He looks around and spots Goombario, who silently stares back. Larry grumpily stands and walks over.

"Can you help me?" he asks annoyed, "I am looking for a Goomba about this high [he stretches his arm about Goombario's height], wears a blue hat, and is a big tattle tale. Nobody here doesn't know him."

Goombario thinks about how to correct the double negative, but then angrily retorts, "I'M NOT A TATTLE…" He clears his throat. "That would be me."

Larry's face beams up, and he goes behind Goombario, pushing him toward the net.

"Yay, I found you! Can you play with me? Please, please, plesase…?"

Goombario, thought it was weird to be playing alone in such the slightly dangerous Goomba Path at night, but then again he was already late, and liked playing with others around his age.

'Kooper and Parakarry can go ahead without me. I mean, it's not like they're gonna get beat up or something.'

They both take their places, Goombario grabbing the other racket between his teeth. Larry takes out two birdies and is ready to serve.

"Want to play with two birdies?"

"Bween gut nn!" replied Goombario with the racket in place.

Larry smugly smiles as he throws both birdies up and spins at extreme speeds. He hits both birdies, which zip past Goombario into a bush behind him. Goombario drops the racket and turns to find the birdies.

"I'll get 'em!"

He goes to the bush where they lodged and shook it here and there. The birdies land on his feet, but because of Larry's spinning move, they are revealed to be tiny canisters disguised as birdies. The odorless poison gas from the tiny container was already in the air. Goombario was slowly losing consciousness, and just as slowly, the poison was sapping him of his strength. Once the gas clears, Larry skips over to him and pulls out his wand.

Goombario glares back as Larry waves his wand around. He weakly says, "Cheater…," and then passes out.

Larry points his wand at Goombario; he slowly shrinks to half his size. The other two Goombas pop out from behind a rock and sprout their wings, and proceed to carry both Larry and the fallen Goomba.

"About time, Larry. I was getting a cramp from holding them in!"

Larry rambled on, ignoring the Paragoomba as it flew toward Shooting Star Summit. "I won! And I didn't have to do anything. Big bro Ludwig is going to be happy."

…

While Iggy, Roy, and Larry fought their respective battles; the other 3 Koopalings, Bowser Jr., and the three unknown beings had already reached Star Haven. Lemmy summoned a bomb at the entrance of the sanctuary, and blasts it open. While Bowser Jr. wrecks havoc outside, the six others barge in.

The one with the mobster accent shouts, "You two! Lemmy! Find the Star Cruiser! Wiseguy, you ready yet?"

He gets no answer. He looks to the side and sees Kalmar using Up and Away while Ludwig and Wendy both counter the sonar-like attack with their respective wand attacks. Skolar uses Star Storm and knocked off the Toad-like cape from the mobster's body. Lemmy summons a smoke bomb and launches it at the guy, exploding in time to cover him.

"Not bad, not bad at all. But defend yourself from this!"

He raised his two small, white hands above the smoke; a rumble is heard outside. Skolar attacks again with Star Storm, just as a giant Ztar breaks into the palace. Ludwig looks back as Wendy holds Kalmar back.

"Don Albino, attacking with Dark Star already, huh? Then I must follow suit." He flails his scepter as the two attacks collide over the Star Rod. The intensity is so great that both attacks explode along with the Star Rod, earning a shocked gasp from the star spirits. Lemmy smiled.

"Don Albino! The Star Cruiser was inside the Rod's pedestal. We can now go higher to Star Road."

With the smoke cleared, Don Albino is seen once more clad in his disguise. He, Lemmy, and the two others dash to the copter and fly away in it en route to the legendary Star Road, leaving behind Ludwig, Wendy, and Bowser Jr.

Muskular and Klevar were about to chase Don Albino's group, when a bolt zips past them. They look back at Ludwig, pointing his smallest claw at them. All of the star spirits are horrified, for a large shadow lingered behind him, seemingly under Ludwig's control by the lightning strings that emanated from the tips of his Koopa claws.

Ludwig ominous gaze meets up with the appalled star spirits. He cackles. "Pursuing our allies? Quite wily, but you'll necessitate higher cunning prowess to get past me… and my newest toy."

* * *

**A/N: Who's this Don Albino? Next chapter finalizes the current battling blitz. Please review. Until next time!**


	10. The Summoning Revealed

**The Summoning Revealed**

_Four days before the assault of Star Haven, Ludwig, dressed in a clean lab coat, is in Iggy's lab, finishing an experiment. Iggy casually walks into his laboratory._

"_Luddy, there you are! Don Albino said the Master wanted to speak to us…" _

_He sees that Ludwig is still immersed in his work. He looks to the left and finds two unconscious Goombas strapped to the wall, a fully charged laser gun ready pointed at them. He looks right and finds a pile of Dry Bones' bones, littering the floor, another laser gun hovering over them. They didn't budge at all._

_Suddenly, Iggy's right eye become twitchy, and he starts tapping his left foot rapidly. Without having to look, Ludwig pulls a ADHD pill from his lab coat pocket and flicks it into Iggy's throat. Iggy returns to his calmer self after a few seconds. He scratches his head and juts his mouth to the left._

"_Luddy, what exactly are you doing in __**my**__ lab, when you got yours?"_

_Ludwig now turns and boastfully replies, holding a remote on his left hand, "It is fortunate that I possess an eccentric lunatic for a sibling, for it is at this laboratory of unorthodox and unfathomable analyses, that I can realize an unthinkable deed, never carried out in the yesteryears."_

"_So, what is this 'deed' you show off about?"_

_Ludwig turns and chuckles; he looks back at his brother. "Oh? Near my countenance and I shall enlighten you."_

_As Iggy steps closer to his brother, Ludwig presses a large red button on the remote, prompting a red beam of light to shoot at the Goombas. Slowly, they fade into the light; the other laser gun hovering over the pile of bones began shining a bright yellow hue. Ludwig sneers while pressing a green button next to the red one; the yellow light seemingly blasts the lifeless Dry Bones. The beam stops firing after a minute; that area of the lab becomes covered in smoke._

_When it clears, the pile of Dry Bones seemed to be unaffected except for a sizzling sound. Iggy disappointedly glares back at a content Ludwig._

"_Wowie, a dud!" Iggy retorts sarcastically._

_Ludwig furrows his brows, and slyly grins back at his skeptical brother. He lifted his left arm, lightning emitting from it._

"_Summon a pair of Koopatrols, if you will."_

_Iggy shrugs and complies. While he takes out his wand and flails it about to make the summon, Ludwig places his electrified left hand and floats it over the bones. Strands of his lightning power lunged down at the pile, causing a disturbance. As the air blows Ludwig's hair back, he slowly grins, exposing more of his Koopa teeth; the lightning caused two Dry Bones to fully form, a dark blue light coming from their eye sockets. He adds his now electrified right hand._

_As soon as Iggy summoned two Koopatrols by means of his scepter, Ludwig eagerly utters, preparing the Dry Bones puppets, "Stand aside, Iggy. You two, let us commence our sparring. En guardé!"_

_Both Koopatrols retract into their shells and do a Shell Toss move at the bony Koopa puppets. Ludwig thrusts his arms forward; the Dry Bones grow a pair of wings each and launch at the incoming spiky armored Koopas. They pull back their dry heads and head butt the Koopatrols. Iggy became wide-mouthed; both armored Koopas were spun out and bruised, for their hard armor was pulverixed by the Dry Bones' heads, their shells meeting a similar fate. Ludwig arrogantly sneers once more._

"_Ah, yes! Far more superior outcome that anticipated!"_

_Iggy tried recovering from his mute astonishment. He stammers, "Uh-uh-uh… Luddy! Th-that was incredible!"_

"_Naturally. I funneled the headbonking powers of Goombas into the Dry Bones' delicate craniums, at the cost of using up the entire genetic encompassment of the, shall we called them, guinea pigs." _

_Ludwig crosses his arms and closes his eyes. Lightning stops flowing from his hands, causing the Dry Bones to fall and clack on the floor, revealing once more their lifeless state. Ludwig cocks his head to the side, and looks at his tall sibling._

"_The Master can wait. I must endeavor this on a fallen dragon. Have Larry shrink the apparatus, and both of you, depart with me." He maliciously grins. "Let us voyage to Barrel Volcano."_

…

Ludwig is standing on top of Zombone, holding the lifeless dragon with the lightning strands. Zombone had just finished his Boulder attack. The seven star spirits lay across the destroyed sanctuary defeated. The ceiling had completely collapsed and there no longer was any trace the central pedestal. Wendy stood afar, flailing her scepter, while Bowser Jr. walked in, shrinking from his Giga form back to normal.

"And here I contemplated a real challenge," Ludwig pompously boasted.

He motions to both Wendy and Bowser Jr. to make their moves. As Bowser Jr. pulls out his paintbrush and runs toward the star spirits, Wendy launches a barrage of golden rings at all seven spirits. The rings pinned down the star spirits by their mid section. Then, Bowser Jr. paints a rectangular design on top of all the spirits. Just then, Lemmy, Don Albino and the other two returned from their mission.

"I sssee you're done sssuc-cccesssfully," one said.

"Zombone, huh? Nice choice, Wiseguy," added Don Albino.

Ludwig looks at them and nonchalantly replies, "I surmise you demolished the entirety of Star Road and appropriated the seven pieces."

"Of course, Ludwig," retorts Lemmy with his deep voice. He looks toward the charred star spirits, his eyes completely veiled by a blue light. "I see. I'll seal them off like Kammy did a while back."

Lemmy, with his wand on his right hand, flicks his right wrist. A fine dust pours over the fallen star spirits, turning the paint into a card, sealing them all.

When that finished, Iggy's crazy cackling is heard at the distance, along Larry's childish ranting; they arrive simultaneously. The four-winged Roy arrives next, and stomp lands while admiring the destruction approvingly. He tosses Kooper onto the rubble, Larry following suit with Goombario. Bahamutt holds onto Parakarry as Iggy continues to laugh manically.

"With this," Lemmy continues, "Wishes won't get in our Master's way. And Ludwig, your test subjects are already here. Can't wait to see what you'll do next." However they could, they all fly back to Bowser's castle.

* * *

**The assault to Star Haven and Star Road ends. Next time: Yoshi in Sarasa Land.**


	11. Night at an Inn in Chai

**Night at an Inn in Chai**

"What!? You mean, I must wait until tomorrow morning?" cried Yoshi.

It is the same night of the fall of Star Haven. Yoshi had just finished climbing the rugged mountain leading into Chai. He arrived outside Princess Daisy's castle walls, but is promptly stopped by a yellow pianta chancellor. Instead of the usual tropical appearance, this pianta man has a cheery blossom branch protruding from his head, and dons an orange and gold ancient Chinese magistrate outfit.

"My apologies for such an inconvenience, Yoshi," replied the pianta chancellor, "But it is a Sarasa Land tradition that no guests can be let inside the castle during the night. Please, I will accommodate you in a nearby inn, at our expense."

Yoshi sighs and drops his shoulders. He reluctantly agrees and walked over to a two-story, imperial-esque looking building a small distance south. He is greeted by an elderly green Birdo clad in a red dress and bow, who warmly welcomes her guest. She puts a cerulean colored, simple kimono over his shoulders and leads him to a dining room.

Hand drawn pictures of cherry trees and the cascades of the craggy Chai mountainside decorate the dining room. Three lanterns decorated with light orange daisies lit the room. A low-lying wooden table surrounded by black floor mats was the center piece of the hall. A pot of Chai tea brewed in the corner, a top some low heat coals inside a hearth.

The room, coupled with the comfortable silk kimono, makes Yoshi feel very cozy. The elderly green Birdo motions Yoshi to a floor mat near the warm hearth. She bows at the Sarasa Land chancellor and shows him to a mat across Yoshi's.

She calls in the resident cook; a red, angry-looking, lash-less Birdo sporting a chef's hat and apron walked in with the most tantalizing banquet, the aromas quickly filling the room and Yoshi nose. His stomach grumbled loudly, making the green Birdo chuckle and the red Birdo scowl. The angry red Birdo places the exquisite dinner of Koopasta, a fish cuisine called Cheep-Cheep chowder, steaming fresh Shroom steak, amongst other things.

As the piñata chancellor took his place, he motions Yoshi to the food, who hurriedly replied by serving his plate, until food overflowed onto the table. He takes in a spoonful of Koopasta, and looks up; he got a good look at the red Birdo, who began to leave when their eyes met. The red Birdo had a scar running down his right eye, apparently having lost it in the past. The same scar ran down under the apron. Yoshi's enthusiasm for the feast reduced to a couple of slow chews.

The pianta chancellor notices this and tells the green Birdo hostess as she brings the Chai tea and begins pouring it into two cups, "May you be kind to give us time to discuss alone?"

"Right away, sir." She exits the room, leaving the cherry-blossomed pianta alone with the green Yoshi.

The pianta looks at Yoshi as he clasps his hand and puts them on the table. "Wondering about these Birdos huh?"

Yoshi swallows his food. "Yeah, man… uh, I mean, Chancellor. I thought that all of…"

"The Birdos were petrified, yes?" interrupted the chancellor, "They were inside our lady's castle during that assault. And I assume you're wondering about the scar he got there?"

Yoshi nods as he puts another spoonful of Koopasta in his mouth.

"Yoshi, that red Birdo was once part of the crew of the infamous Jonathan Jones. He was the ship's cook, and over the years, got that scar. A year before the attack of Smithy over the Mushroom Kingdom, he left piracy and took refuge here in Sarasa Land. I and your hostess are the only ones who know his true identity, and you're the third. Please, not a word about this."

Yoshi swallows, and nods. "Okay, I won't. But why is the red Birdo…?"

The chancellor raises a wanted posted with a red 'X' crossing out Johnny's face. "He was apprehended, and sent to a prison in Desert Hill. Even if he does escape, he'll dehydrate quickly and die in the desert."

Yoshi looks to the side, bringing a bowl of Cheep-Cheep chowder to his mouth. After a short sip, he gives the broth a dreamy look.

"This is so good!"

"Ah, yes! The chef's specialty! Let us forget our dreary conversation and eat merrily, shall we?" The chancellor begins eating with proper table manners, but is unperturbed by Yoshi frantically stuffing his face.

Once dinner over with, Yoshi is ushered into a private room, full with a personal hot spring. A pot of warm tea is left at a table next to his bed mat. Ahh… that warm shower hits the spot. A couple of sips from the relaxing Chai tea, and Yoshi rapidly falls asleep.

…

_Next Morning…_

Yoshi dashed outside the castle walls to a helicopter readied to take him and the chancellor to a fair in the nearby desert realm, Birabuto. He goes inside the copter and frantically motions the pilot, a doogan to leave.

"Hurry! The princess is in danger!"

"Oh no! Let's go then!" the doogan absentmindedly replies, and soon they're off, speeding through that clouds, in hopes to reach Daisy in time.

The yellow pianta chancellor runs outside and sees the ride gone. He looks to the side at a doogan soldier.

"How long will the next helicopter by ready?"

"In fifteen minutes, sir!"

The yellow pianta begins sweating. He rubs his forehead in frustration. "What was the pilot thinking? He already knows the situation, yet he… [Sighs] Oh well. Too bad Yoshi didn't hear the rest either. We must hurry to the Birabuto's amusement park at once!"

* * *

**Next time: A battle in Birabuto. Until Then…**

**A/N: Had some spare time to log in, so two chapters today. Please review. Later!**


	12. Trouble at Birabuto Fair

**Trouble at Birabuto Fair**

Yoshi and the doogan pilot zip through the mountains of Chai, dash across the vast expansion on Muda, and finally reach the country of Birabuto. During the 30 minute flight, Yoshi, nervously tapping his fingers on Stuffwell 2.0, couldn't shake off the thought of Daisy being in eminent danger. The pilot points at an ancient fair-like bazaar in the western side of Birabuto, and flew there as fast as the helicopter could take them.

The pilot almost crash lands the helicopter on an open area in the southeastern corner of Birabuto Fair, the newest attraction built around an oasis in Sarasa Land. He parks it next to Daisy's personal 'copter, an orange vessel with two white flowers on the side doors.

Yoshi hears an outburst of astonished gasps and shrieks. He dashes in direction of the commotion. Yoshi runs past the outdoor stores of dried Shrooms and pasta, jumped over pots and barrels of unknown content, and reaches the central plaza. A midday gust blew across the open area; Yoshi furrows his brows.

Amidst the sandy wind, Morton Koopa Jr. stood triumphantly, both of his dark skinned arms raised, his spiked wristbands glistening in the sun. A Sarasa Land Toad lay on the floor bruised and unconscious, while Daisy stood near, looking a bit anxious. Morton roared and banged on two palms at his vicinity.

"Who dare's challenge me?" he hollered.

Without warning, Yoshi jumps at Morton's head and does a Ground Pound; he lands next to Daisy. He hands Stuffwell 2.0. to a flustered Daisy. She goes inside a permanent building of the fair, as Yoshi declares while trying to stomp on Morton's three-haired head again, "How about me?"

To Yoshi's surprise, the Ground Pound didn't work, and found himself smacked into one of the palms by Morton's brutish arm swipe. Yoshi rubs his head before dodging a desert coconut that fell from the palm. Morton laughs and wags his claw.

"That ain't workiiiing no more!" Morton exclaims.

Morton runs up the palm opposite to the one Yoshi crashed into. The palm bends due to the dark skinned Koopa's weight. He jumps off and grabs onto the trunk as the weightlessness made the flexible tree rebound; it flings him up to the sky. Yoshi squints trying to spot the flying Koopaling; the desert sun is too bright.

An incoming shadow sped at Yoshi; he narrowly jumps out of Morton's way. He grabs onto a wooden pole erected for a tent that would be put up later; and as he did that, he turns and spots a barrel near the pole, stretching his tongue at it. The momentum spun him around the pole, dragging the barrel with him, and finally launching it at Morton with his near perfect aim. Morton simply smacks the barrel; the busted seems and splinters fly at random directions.

A spiky club was tossed at Morton from the roof of the building next to the two palms. Yoshi looks up and face faults when he sees Daisy waving back, smiling from ear to ear. He let's go of the pole and furiously stomps on the somewhat paved but dusty plaza.

"Seriously! What the heck! Whose side are you on?"

Daisy giggles, making Yoshi fume even more. "Gotta make it more interesting, no?"

As Yoshi angrily pondered on Daisy's retardedness, Morton had already picked up the weapon and charged at Yoshi like a bull during a stampede. When Yoshi finally notices, Morton is a few steps away. Although Morton is clumsily and progressively nearing, Yoshi becomes temporarily paralyzed. He snaps out of the trance and climbs up the pole just as Morton swung the club. Yoshi had hastily climbed the wooden pole, so it took the blow instead and snapped like a twig. The pole inevitably falls.

Yoshi frantically yells at Daisy, "Grab the jar and throw a vitamin now!"

Daisy leisurely opens up Stuffwell, and grabs the plastic container. After opening, she casually says, "Here's a yellow one 'cause I like yellow."

She tosses a yellow vitamin at her falling green friend. He promptly stretches his tongue at it before falling and causing a dust cloud to rise. The dustiness lingered for a bit, the sun causing Yoshi's shadow to appear. Morton smirks and forcefully flings the club at Yoshi's shadow. What happened next surprises everyone.

An untimely wind blows across, revealing that Yoshi had transformed into a burly, yellow Yoshi. He simply lands a left hook and smashes the club. A growl comes from his stomach, making him grab and look down at it.

He thinks, 'The strength of a Yellow Yoshi plus the stomach to match.' He determinedly looks at the dark skinned Koopaling. 'Let's see if I can do that…'

Yoshi stomps on the sandy ground; well placed a sandy shockwave speeds at Morton, who can't seem to dodge it on time. He is hit and pushed a bit back.

'I hit him, but it seems I have the same slow reaction time as Morton. I'll get him while he's down.'

Yoshi charges at Morton around the same speed as his enemy. Morton shakes his head, and quickly recovers. The cantankerously Koopaling sees Yoshi, and scowls, retaliating by charging back. Both collide and look into each others hands. The force of their collision blows away the sand and rubbish in their immediate vicinity. They struggle to bring to other down as they wrestle, but Morton slowly gets the upper hand, managing to slowly but surely push Yoshi back.

Yoshi thinks as he sweats and attempts to resist, 'He's still to strong. Better finish this quick.'

Yoshi's face suddenly beams in enlightenment, and takes advantage of the simple and irate Koopaling. Yoshi loosens his grip and seemingly gives in, causing Morton to fall forward, his face smashing into the ground. Yoshi flips the dizzy Koopaling and then jumps up, Ground Pounding on Morton's softer belly. Morton let's out a wheeze and a flatulence, and drops his hands to the sides, knocked out. Yoshi knelt on his right knee, exhausted from the fight and desert sun.

At this moment, Daisy went down to the plaza, and her pianta chancellor had just arrived. Seeing Morton defeated and Daisy and Yoshi standing by, the pianta smacks his forehead.

"Milady, why is Morton beat up? You should treat your guests more properly!"

* * *

**HUH?! WHAT JUST HAPPENED!? **

**Up next: Departure for Desert Hill and the demise of some characters. Thanks for reading!**


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